Balletic grace in John Wick spin-off
Put on your dancing shoes
Helmed by Len Wiseman, a director best known for his stylish entries in the Underworld series, the film brings its signature flair to a new kind of assassin: one trained to pirouette before pulling the trigger. While the premise sounds like something cooked up in a fever dream – assassin ballerinas taking on underground cults – the execution (pun very much intended) is grounded in the franchise's distinct visual style and code-of-honour absurdity.
It must be said the beginning of Ballerina is a bit of a slow burn. The first act leans heavily on exposition, world-building and wistful flashbacks. For those expecting instant mayhem, the setup may feel like waiting too long for a gun to go off. However, once the shoes are laced and the bullets start flying, the film snaps into place like a well-choreographed fight scene.
The pacing issues early on are quickly forgiven thanks to an increasingly engaging plot, stylish kills and one-liner-filled banter from characters both new and familiar. Fans of the franchise will find plenty to geek out over, while newcomers will likely appreciate the sheer audacity of a film that treats pointed shoes like deadly weapons.
Armas surprises and slays
There was some scepticism when Ana de Armas was announced as the lead in an action-heavy John Wick spin-off. Known for her dramatic roles and subtle emotional range, few expected her to carry a full-blown action flick, much less one that requires both emotional depth and the stamina to survive close-quarters combat in heels.
But surprise, surprise: she delivers. De Armas glides through the film's many combat sequences with intensity and physical commitment. Her character's transformation from vengeful trainee to full-blown threat feels earned and her performance never falls into caricature. She holds her own amid seasoned action vets, proving that yes, a ballerina can suplex someone through a table without breaking form.
Bombs, ballet and brotherhood
Ballerina is, in part, a Trojan horse for a Keanu Reeves appearance. And that is perfectly fine. While the franchise's beloved Baba Yaga does not hog the spotlight, his presence is undeniably a crowd-pleasing highlight. The film smartly uses his character to anchor the story, rather than distract from it. Still, viewers should temper expectations, this is not John Wick 5.5 and the focus never strays far from Eve's own revenge arc.
That said, for anyone walking into the cinema thinking 'I just want to see John Wick fight someone again,' rest assured: patience will be rewarded.
Beyond the gun-fu and shadowy assassins, Ballerina also dips into themes of legacy, betrayal and identity. While it does not spend too long philosophising (this is not The Godfather), the script does offer moments of emotional clarity amid the chaos. Family ties and buried secrets lend the film a layer of depth, making the action sequences more than just stylish mayhem.
Still, the real highlight remains the inventive choreography. From close-quarter knife fights in velvet theatres to shootouts framed like a ballet recital gone terribly wrong, Ballerina injects some much-needed creativity into the modern action genre. It understands what the Wick-verse does best: turn violence into performance art.
Watch it for the Wick, stay for the wreckage
Ballerina succeeds because it knows what it is. It is not here to rewrite the formula, it is here to dance all over it in blood-soaked tights. De Armas proves herself more than capable in the action arena, the choreography is top-notch and the world-building continues to deepen the Wick lore in ways that feel exciting and absurdly operatic.
Yes, the early pacing could have been snappier. Yes, some characters exist purely as cannon fodder. And yes, the entire concept teeters dangerously close to parody at times. But none of that matters when the third act kicks in and Ballerina fully embraces its role as a stylish, standalone thrill ride.
Whether you are here for the Keanu cameo or just to watch a ballerina blow up a village of killers, Ballerina delivers.
Just remember: do not expect a masterpiece. Expect carnage with class and that is more than enough.
The poster teases the stylish spin-off that pirouettes straight into the John Wick universe.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
30-07-2025
- New Straits Times
#SHOWBIZ: Tom Cruise, Ana de Armas confirm romance during Vermont trip
WOODSTOCK: Tom Cruise and Ana de Armas have seemingly confirmed their long-rumoured romance, as they were spotted walking hand-in-hand during a recent date in Woodstock, Vermont in the US. Following their appearance at Oasis' sold-out reunion concert in London on July 25, the pair reportedly flew back across the pond and touched down in the charming New England town, according to pictures obtained by TMZ. It was there that their speculated relationship appeared to be cemented, with the two openly holding hands as they strolled through the quaint streets. TMZ reported that the 'Mission: Impossible' star and the 'Ballerina' actress drove through a national park, went shopping, and stopped for ice cream – all while holding hands. Attempts by E! News to contact representatives for both stars for comment have not been successful. This public display of affection follows months of apparent dates. Since first being seen together on Valentine's Day in Madrid, Tom and Ana have spent time together in London on multiple occasions – with Tom even flying the 'Knives Out' actress there by helicopter on one occasion – and enjoyed a sun-drenched getaway on the Spanish island of Menorca. Back in May, Ana spoke about her professional relationship with Tom, highlighting several upcoming projects. "It's so much fun, and we're definitely working on a lot of things," the 37-year-old teased on 'Good Morning America' on May 15. "Not just one but a few projects with Doug Liman and Christopher McQuarrie and, of course, Tom. And I'm so excited." That same day, Tom – who was previously married to Katie Holmes, Nicole Kidman, and Mimi Rogers – couldn't help but praise Ana's film 'Ballerina', in which she stars alongside Keanu Reeves. "I just saw the movie," the 63-year-old told TikToker Javier Ibarreche at the London premiere of 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning'. "It just kicks ass!" The significance of such praise, coming from an action genre veteran, was not lost on Ana. "It makes me really happy and proud," she admitted to E! News' Will Marfuggi in an exclusive interview at the 'Ballerina' Los Angeles premiere on June 3.
The Star
19-07-2025
- The Star
Keanu Reeves pays AI firm thousands a month to stop online imitators: report
Keanu Reeves often gets called the nicest, coolest A-lister in Hollywood. But he also has become known to cause problems for himself and his fans. The John Wick and Matrix star is probably the most impersonated celebrity on the Internet, which has forced him to pay a Seattle-based AI company thousands of dollars a month to find his online imitators and get companies like TikTok and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, to shut them down. Reeves' battle against online scammers, using his likeness for romance scams, political messaging and other purposes, is described in a new story by The Hollywood Reporter . A writer for the entertainment industry publication went undercover, in a social media way, to spend time communicating with a fake Reeves account. At one point in June, Keanu_Reeves68667 tried to get the writer, Rebecca Keegan, to buy a bogus US$600 (RM 2,547) fan club membership in order to meet the actor "in person for sure." This entreaty came around the same time that the real Reeves was posing for photos on the red carpet with his girlfriend, artist Alexandra Grant, at the premiere for the John Wick spinoff Ballerina , Keegan said. Keegan also spent time with data scientist Luke Arrigoni. He runs a three-year-old company, Loti AI, which has become an industry leader in "likeness technology protection." It helps celebrities, athletes, business leaders and other public figures protect their images from unauthorised AI-generated content and deepfakes. With Reeves' permission, Arrigoni revealed to Keegan that Loti had issued nearly 40,000 account takedown orders on the actor's behalf over the past year. Reeves enlisted Arrigoni to do this work because he is well aware of the way his image is being manipulated online. "He cares very much about how his fans are treated, and he's very invested in trying to solve this problem," Arrigoni told the Hollywood Reporter . Reeves has become a draw for such scams because "pretty much everybody everywhere on Earth likes (him)," Keegan wrote. But in addition to being likable, Reeves also is "mysterious," Keegan said. He doesn't maintain a presence on social media and he limits what he shares about himself publicly. Meanwhile, the opportunists have used Reeves' likeness in a variety of ways. "In one subgenre of fakery, Reeves appears to hold up a T-shirt with political messaging on it, sometimes pro-left, some pro-right," Keegan reported. "In one doctored image, he seems to be endorsing Donald Trump. In another, he is raising awareness of the Indigenous children who were forced into abusive boarding schools in Canada. Most of these are photoshopped alterations of a Getty Images picture of Reeves attending a motorcycle fair in Italy in 2017." Once Loti issues its takedown orders to social media platforms, it typically takes the platforms about 48 hours to resolve the problem. Unfortunately, "in that brief window, scammers can do a lot of damage," Keegan reported. According to the latest data from the FBI, Americans reported US$672mil ( in losses to confidence and romance scams in 2024, Keegan reported. The targets of such scams tend to be people over the age of 60, with Keegan also reporting on the case of a 73-year-old woman who lost some US$100,000 (RM 424,599) to someone online impersonating Kevin Costner. This fake Costner convinced the woman to make weekly bitcoin deposits, saying the money would be used to start a new production company. "She also was lonely and restless as her marriage was failing, her career had ended and her kids and grandkids were busy with their own lives," Keegan wrote. "(Fake) Costner's messages represented some welcome male attention, a fantasy to drop into when real life got too real." At one point, this woman received a photo of the actor, leaning against the wooden headboard of a bed. Fake Costner was holding up a piece of paper that read, "It's really me Kevin Costner. I love you so much... i can't wait to meet you." – Silicon Valley, San Jose, Calif./Tribune News Service
The Star
08-07-2025
- The Star
AI video becomes more convincing, rattling creative industry
NEW YORK: Gone are the days of six-fingered hands or distorted faces – AI-generated video is becoming increasingly convincing, attracting Hollywood, artists, and advertisers, while shaking the foundations of the creative industry. To measure the progress of AI video, you need only look at Will Smith eating spaghetti. Since 2023, this unlikely sequence – entirely fabricated – has become a technological benchmark for the industry. Two years ago, the actor appeared blurry, his eyes too far apart, his forehead exaggeratedly protruding, his movements jerky, and the spaghetti didn't even reach his mouth. The version published a few weeks ago by a user of Google's Veo 3 platform showed no apparent flaws whatsoever. "Every week, sometimes every day, a different one comes out that's even more stunning than the next," said Elizabeth Strickler, a professor at Georgia State University. Between Luma Labs' Dream Machine launched in June 2024, OpenAI's Sora in December, Runway AI's Gen-4 in March 2025, and Veo 3 in May, the sector has crossed several milestones in just a few months. Runway has signed deals with Lionsgate studio and AMC Networks television group. Lionsgate vice president Michael Burns told New York Magazine about the possibility of using artificial intelligence to generate animated, family-friendly versions from films like the John Wick or Hunger Games franchises, rather than creating entirely new projects. "Some use it for storyboarding or previsualisation" – steps that come before filming – "others for visual effects or inserts," said Jamie Umpherson, Runway's creative director. Burns gave the example of a script for which Lionsgate has to decide whether to shoot a scene or not. To help make that decision, they can now create a 10-second clip "with 10,000 soldiers in a snowstorm." That kind of pre-visualisation would have cost millions before. In October, the first AI feature film was released – Where The Robots Grow – an animated film without anything resembling live action footage. For Alejandro Matamala Ortiz, Runway's co-founder, an AI-generated feature film is not the end goal, but a way of demonstrating to a production team that "this is possible". 'Resistance everywhere' Still, some see an opportunity. In March, startup Staircase Studio made waves by announcing plans to produce seven to eight films per year using AI for less than US$500,000 (RM2.11mil) each, while ensuring it would rely on unionised professionals wherever possible. "The market is there," said Andrew White, co-founder of small production house Indie Studios. People "don't want to talk about how it's made", White pointed out. "That's inside baseball. People want to enjoy the movie because of the movie." But White himself refuses to adopt the technology, considering that using AI would compromise his creative process. Jamie Umpherson argues that AI allows creators to stick closer to their artistic vision than ever before, since it enables unlimited revisions, unlike the traditional system constrained by costs. "I see resistance everywhere" to this movement, observed Georgia State's Strickler. This is particularly true among her students, who are concerned about AI's massive energy and water consumption as well as the use of original works to train models, not to mention the social impact. But refusing to accept the shift is "kind of like having a business without having the Internet", she said. "You can try for a little while." In 2023, the American actors' union SAG-AFTRA secured concessions on the use of their image through AI. Strickler sees AI diminishing Hollywood's role as the arbiter of creation and taste, instead allowing more artists and creators to reach a significant audience. Runway's founders, who are as much trained artists as they are computer scientists, have gained an edge over their AI video rivals in film, television, and advertising. But they're already looking further ahead, considering expansion into augmented reality and virtual reality – for example creating a metaverse where films could be shot. "The most exciting applications aren't necessarily the ones that we have in mind," said Umpherson. "The ultimate goal is to see what artists do with technology." – AFP
